Old Lady to Young Lady Part 5

Previously, when I left Redsun Motorsport after replacing my brake rotors, he warned me that I might see some markings on my rotor but it is normal. Just after 2 days, I could see a line in the middle of the rotor's surface. It is a rust color line, around 3 cm wide on all 4 rotors. Immediately, I fear it might damaged my new and expensive rotors. I think I should not delay replacing the brake pads anymore. Quickly, I called Redsun and have them order new pads for me. It took a few days for the pads to arrive and I arranged time to send my car over to Redsun. Initially, the main thing was to change brake pads but I also had a few other unfinished things that I need Redsun to tend to. Hopefully, this should be my last trip to Redsun for rebuilding my Nissan Fairlady Z. All these trips to Redsun is beneficial to my 350Z but it is killing my savings and it seem like before I could even enjoy the 350Z, I have to pay this much. 

A few months ago, I bought Brembo brake pads for replacement simply because, my brake calipers are Brembo. Despite Brembo being a famous and great brand itself, many owners would upgrade to other brands. One factor could be because it is difficult to get the original spec Brembo pads that you get from Nissan. The Brembo pads sold locally are unfortunately, made in China and are low in quality. No wonder, I got the pads for a very low price and here, I thought I made a good buy. The pads that I had was Endless, a very famous Japanese brand that produces Big Brake Kit for a lot of JDM models. It is widely used in many races and a preferred brand even in Malaysia but it is very expensive. So after considering all these, I opt to order Endless pads. Although it was only the front that needs replacement, it is better to change the rear too because the rear rotors are new too. The new front pads are rated 500 degrees while the rear pads are 400 degrees. These pads will need longer time to warm up but it could handle higher temperature which means lesser brake fading and better performance. It would make a great team with my DBA rotors. 

In Part 3, the pulley belts were replaced because of wear and tear, and old age. However, I started to hear a shrieking sound every time I cold start the car. Usually the sound would die off after I drive for a while and I thought it was nothing. Soon, it annoyed me because it was getting louder and after spending so much money on restoring the car, now the 350Z sounds like a broken down car. One day, I started the car and open up the front hood to check where the sound was coming from. I found out the sound was coming from the pulley belt area. Upon checking, there were 2 components that were causing the sound. Firstly, the A/C compressor pulley belt was replaced with the wrong belt. It was the wrong material and wrong length. Since this was the fault of Redsun, a correct belt was ordered and installed with no extra charges. Secondly, pulley bearings were due for replacement. It was small bearing with rubber cover, that I could easily take from my company's inventory. While replacing the bearings, the mechanic found the A/C pulley also needs replacement. So, with the belt, bearings and pulley changed, the shrieking sound immediately dissappears .

Bearings

A/C Compressor Pulley

This is another issue that was present from the first day I received my 350Z. There is oil leaking from the valve cover. The leak was not serious to the extend where a pool of oil could be seen under the car nor could you see fresh oil coming out between the seal. However, there is some dried oil stain that you could visibly see. This is caused by the engine valve cover seal not doing its job. The seal is made of rubber and over the course of time, it would either get dry and brittle or gets out of shape. Nothing serious here as the seal usually need replacement every few years. Redsun ordered new ones and install the seals. Each engine needs 2 seals.

In Part 2 when the whole transmission was changed, Redsun had previously changed the transmission oil. However due to the issue with 3rd gear, he changed the synchronizer hub but even with the new hub, I felt the problem still persist. Redsun's owner told me if it still happens, he will change the transmission oil for me. I resorted to double-clutching when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear and luckily, it solves the problem. I had been thinking and it felt like maybe a thicker oil could help out when the hub moves in and out when engaging gears. After 2 weeks, it is time to change the oil to see if it helps. The oil that will be used is Redline's Lightweight Shockproof Gear Oil from USA. According to the owner, this oil is used for track cars and is more thicker that the average oil. If you use a finger to touch it, it will feel more like a sticky compound rather than the usual watery liquid. This is the good stuff.

My 350Z comes with the DVD and Navi package and so, it came with a display monitor. However, over the years, the monitor cracked and as I mentioned it a few times here before, I am looking to remove the monitor as there is already another touch screen player. Then, I finally found an original center console that has a storage pocket for sale online after looking for a long time. On the surface it looks the same but when you open up, there's no monitor there. I just had to buy and brought it over to Redsun for installation. It is quite easy to install it but since I had to bring the 350Z to Redsun anyway, might as well have the professional do it. It was very kind of them to do it for free. One of the weakness of the car's interior was the lack of storage space especially for my phone. Usually I put on the hand rest or by the handbrake but a lot of the time my phone just rest on my laps, which is inconvenient and it annoys me. Now I can put my phone and other things in the compartment and it is easy for me to retrieve those items from there. Definitely a good buy and it was cheap too.

When closed, it is the same with or without monitor.

Extra Compartment

On the day before I collected the car, the engine check light came up again. When I was told about this, I was worried. In my mind I was thinking, please don't let it be another thing that I have to replace! So, Redsun's owner took out his new On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) scanner to read the error code and found out it was caused by his workers. While removing some parts, his worker turn on the ignition and that is when the check light came up. I was relieved to hear that and I was impressed with his OBD scanner because it uses a wireless connection and controls it with an Ipad. Talk about state of the art. He must have spent a lot on that. He did mentioned that he wants to start doing maintenance for Lamborghinis and Bentleys. Maybe that is why he needs a new fancy OBD scanner.

Engine Check Light again.

Owner with Mighty Red Ipad OBD Scanner